Opposition leader Yair Lapid accused Justice Minister Yariv Levin of “doing everything he can to destroy the system,” after news broke out of Levin’s intention to replace Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara as the main investigator in the Sde Teiman case because of a “conflict of interests.”
“Yariv Levin proposes appointing an investigator, bypassing the AG, and claiming that this will gain ‘broad public trust,’” Lapid wrote on X/Twitter.
“No, it doesn't. Neither trust nor broad. And he has no authority to carry out this side. He is a hate-filled minister in a minority government who is doing everything to destroy the system, and we have no trust in his progress.”
Blue and White leader Benny Gantz also criticized the decision, saying, “In a reformed world and a normal government, the justice minister would sit with the attorney-general and reach a conclusion together; but we are in an abnormal world, where the minister does not recognize the attorney-general at all.”
"As I said yesterday, the attorney-general should transfer the Sde Teiman investigation to a prosecutor who has not been involved in it so far. However, no minister, neither Levin nor anyone else, is authorized to determine who will conduct an investigation,” he added.
IDF’s new Military Advocate-General
Defense Minister Israel Katz appointed former Defense Ministry chief legal advisor Itai Ophir as the next IDF chief lawyer, following the resignation of the former IDF chief lawyer Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi on Friday.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir issued a statement congratulating Ophir and assured that he "attaches great importance to the appointment of a Military Advocate General who emerges from the ranks of Israel’s combat officer corps, bringing with him extensive legal experience and a deep understanding of both the operational and legal challenges faced by the IDF."
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich reacted to the appointment, saying that “there is no one more worthy and suitable to rehabilitate the military prosecution system than Attorney Itai Ofir.”
“A fighter and reserve officer with a backbone of Zionist ethical values and a first-rate professional. I am convinced that this outstanding appointment by the Defense Minister will lead to the necessary correction of the system,” he declared.
Sarah Ben-Nun and Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.